My ‘99 Ford Expedition just died while driving, and now it won’t start at all. No crank, no noise, just dead. It was running rough before, then stalled out. We added 3 quarts of oil before it died, but my girlfriend said the low oil light only came on after we added the oil, not before.
Do you have a wrench big enough to fit the crankshaft pulley? If so, try to manually turn the engine over with the battery disconnected. If it moves, at least you know the engine isn’t seized. If it doesn’t move, then you might be looking at a locked-up motor.
@Cameron
Okay, I think we have a wrench that’ll fit. Will try this—thank you. If it does move, does that mean it’ll start when we reconnect the battery? Or what’s the next step?
Charlie said: @Cameron
Okay, I think we have a wrench that’ll fit. Will try this—thank you. If it does move, does that mean it’ll start when we reconnect the battery? Or what’s the next step?
Engines need oil to prevent metal-on-metal contact.
If yours ran dry, the first thing that usually goes is a rod bearing, which causes knocking. If you keep driving, the piston can get hot enough to seize to the cylinder wall. At that point, the engine won’t turn at all.
Worst-case scenario? The stress from seizing up could’ve snapped a connecting rod, sending it through the engine block. If that happened, you’d probably see metal pieces under the truck.
Hopefully, it’s not that bad. If you can get it to turn manually, there might be hope for repair, but if it’s locked up solid, you’re looking at an engine replacement.
Charlie said: @Rex
Yeah… it sounded really similar to that video before it died. But now when we try to start it, there’s no noise at all?
Did it start back up at all?
No, still completely dead. Earlier, before it died, it was making the same sound as the video. But now when we try to start it, it doesn’t even make a click—just nothing at all.
@Charlie
If there’s no crank at all, it could sound like a bad starter, but based on everything that happened, this really lines up with oil starvation.
Did you notice a low oil pressure light before it died? Also, is there oil leaking under the truck?
@Rex
According to my girlfriend (she was driving), the low oil light only came on after we put in the 3 quarts of oil—then it died almost immediately. No clue why it didn’t come on sooner.
And yeah, there’s some oil under the truck but not a huge puddle or anything.
@Charlie
If that’s the case, the best option is to tow it to a shop and have them diagnose it. The most likely scenario is that it ran dry on oil for too long and seized up. If that’s the case, you’re probably looking at a junkyard motor swap.
If you had access to another vehicle, you could swap the engine yourself, but that’s not realistic when you’re stranded. You’d need a tow, a hoist, tools, and a lot of time.
Your best bet right now is to call around and see if any shops near you do free diagnostics. If you need help finding a shop, let me know.
If you’re near Rockwall, you might want to tow it to the Ford dealership there. Towing shouldn’t be too expensive, and there are a few hotels nearby if you need to stay overnight. Some independent shops in the area might also do free diagnostics.